Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, said Monday that while national tragedies and public turmoil carry real emotional weight, they usually do not drive stock prices for large companies.
Stocks do not go down because people are in a bad mood. They don’t go down because there’s a highly controversial shooting in Minneapolis. They don’t go down because gold’s higher or the dollar’s weaker. They go down because something goes wrong that impacts their businesses, and that something tends to elude many investors, both big and small. Take today, where the averages ultimately did pretty well… We have so many things that are awry, away from the stock market. You can tell how people expect stocks to march to the drum of chaos and destruction by looking at the S&P 500 overnight futures, which we often think represent some sort of arbiter, a judge of what will occur when stocks open the next day… I find this otherworldly.
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Cramer said that in the long Sunday piece he writes each week for CNBC Investing Club members, he was clear about what he did not say. Cramer said he did not argue that the market would fall because of the Minneapolis shooting, and he said the stock market does not react that way. He also said he did not predict a selloff because severe weather shut down much of the country and forced people to stay indoors. He added:
I didn’t extrapolate that $7 natural gas, a ridiculous spike that shows you how jerry-built our natural gas pipeline system is, and then reached the conclusion that the market should plummet anyway. I didn’t rush the judgment that the airline stocks must be jettisoned because of the nationwide weather torment. I did not say that the market would go down because of the insane rallies in gold and silver, coupled with a vicious decline in the dollar. The precious metal complex seems extreme, signaling something for certain, but not anything I can relate to stocks in our market. A weak dollar can be worrisome too, but it’s great for our exporters. It’s not much of a reason to dump the entire market.
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 9 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on January 26. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the third quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 978 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Cramer Answered Questions About These 9 Stocks
9. Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. Toward the end of the lightning round, a caller asked for Cramer’s thoughts on the company, and he replied:
You know, I hadn’t thought about that. It has a flash array that, data could be stored on flash arrays without a problem. But it does sell at extremely high price-to-earnings multiple. And again, I’m staying away from those stocks because I am concerned that we could have a higher interest rate spike, and these stocks will trade down no matter what happens.
Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) creates hardware and software for data management, including storage systems for databases and tools for cloud-native applications.
8. Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. Inquiring about the stock, a caller mentioned that they have a position in it, and Cramer commented:
Look, it’s doing well. What can I say? It’s not an expensive stock. Look, and I believe in LNG. I believe in the transports, been one of the strongest stories there. I’m not going to go against you, but I do like Enterprise Product Partners more. I like ONEOK more. And boy, how about Energy Transfer?
Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) runs a fleet of gas carriers used to transport petrochemicals, ammonia, and liquefied petroleum gases. The company also provides consultancy and ship-to-shore infrastructure services
7. MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 12
MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. When a caller mentioned that they invested in the stock, Cramer remarked:
Well, you know, I like it from the book. I think that’s a terrific, inexpensive stock… I put those stocks in for one particular reason because I think it’s great to have some income as you get older. That’s not a younger person stock; that’s an older person stock. I one day might have to look at it as I grow in wisdom.
MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) maintains energy infrastructure for the gathering, processing, and distribution of natural gas, crude oil, and refined petroleum products. The company’s operations include marine transport services, storage terminals, and the marketing of natural gas liquids and renewable fuels.
6. AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 110
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. Answering a caller’s query about the stock, Cramer said:
You know, look, AppLovin’s got great momentum, but the fact is it trades at one of the highest price-to-earnings multiples in the entire market. I’m not recommending stocks that have a price-to-[earnings] multiple that is that high. Too much danger, even if I think the company’s great.
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) provides a software platform that helps advertisers and app developers market and monetize their content. The company offers advertising solutions, analytics tools, connected TV services, and mobile games. Cramer discussed the stock in detail during the January 5 episode, as he stated:
The eighth-best stock in the Nasdaq-100 was AppLovin. Now, that’s an advertising software company that helps its customers, like many mobile game developers, grow their reach and monetize their platforms. Now, this is another one with a big retail following. The stock put up huge gains earlier in the year before flattening out over the past few months, but did finish 2025 up 108%. Of course… some people would call these cult stocks. AppLovin’s expensive, trading at 43 times this year’s earnings estimates, which only seems cheap in comparison to Palantir. That said, this company has legitimately great growth and the business is incredibly profitable. Right now, you know what, I can’t name a single competitor to AppLovin. It’s like this company has the whole market to itself. Specifically, AppLovin has seen its revenue roughly triple in the past four years. Meanwhile, the earnings per share have gone from next to nothing to an expected $9.37 for 2025, which would be more than double 2024’s number. The best part, AppLovin’s growth is expected to continue or even accelerate. Wall Street’s looking for 37% revenue growth and 56% earnings growth. And that’s why I’m more comfortable recommending this one because even though AppLovin trades like a speculative stock, the business really isn’t that speculative.
5. American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. Starting the lightning round, a caller sought Cramer’s opinion on the stock, and he commented:
Well, American Towers, look, I gotta tell you, there’ve been fewer demand for towers. It’s been slowing down. I think that stock is no longer as investible as it was at one time, especially when James Taiclet ran it.
American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) operates a network of communications sites in several countries, as well as a series of interconnected data centers in the United States. TCW Global Real Estate Fund stated the following regarding American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:
Our two worst performing securities were SBA Communications Corp. Class A (SBAC; 4.79%**; Telecom Tower Reits) and American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) (AMT; 6.32%**; Telecom Tower Reits).
AMT is one of the world’s largest providers of telecom towers used by wireless communication companies. Telecom towers are mission critical to the carriers, protected by high barriers to entry given constraints from permitting and the physics of spectrum, and require very little capex to support incremental organic growth. Long term, demand for towers will grow in conjunction with increased mobile data consumption. The global 5G deployment cycle and ensuing spend on AMT’s assets has a decade-long runway ahead of it as mobile data continues to grow at 20%-30% annually on current usage patterns, with an additional upside case offered by the development of next-generation applications (GenAI on mobile devices, AR/VR, I oT, etc.)
4. Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24
Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. Noting that the stock has been down after the company reported its earnings, a caller asked if it is a buy, sell, or hold. Here’s what Cramer had to say:
You know, it’s surprising. I mean, look, I was saying this weekend, I don’t know if you caught my running commentary about the insurers when I was watching the football game. I watched all these running commentator guys from Boston, enough of them. I said, the insurers are under pressure. These quarters aren’t that good, but I want you to look through it. Old Republic is a great company. I will not let you, I have followed this company for many years, and I knew the quarter was bad. There’ll be many good quarters after this. Just keep buying, keep reinvesting, and I think you will do just fine. It was an earnings miss, but all the insurers are missing this quarter.
Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI) provides insurance products and title insurance policies. In addition, the company offers related financial indemnity and escrow services.
3. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. Mentioning that they have an outsized position in the stock, a caller asked if it is a buy, sell, or hold, and Cramer replied:
Okay, my favorite is Nucor. I’m not going to recommend Cleveland-Cliffs over Nucor because I think Nucor is the superior operator and has been for some time now. You’re going to be able to buy Nucor at a discount. They reported a number of people didn’t like it, but it was at its 52-week high going into the session. Call me a buyer of Nucor on any weakness. You know, I think that Leon Topalian does a fantastic job with that company.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) produces flat-rolled and specialty steel products, including stainless, electrical, and tubular steels, as well as iron ore and hot-briquetted iron. When a caller asked about the company during the episode aired on September 17, 2025, Cramer responded similarly, as he said:
We’re thinking on Cleveland-Cliffs that it’s had a nice little run here and that we want to be in Nucor. Why do I say that? Because I love the balance sheet. I love the expansion plan in Nucor, and I think that it’s a little less levered to autos, which is good.
2. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. A caller inquired after Cramer’s current thoughts on the stock and if the stock valuation is too “rich” to get back into. He commented:
What a great question. Okay… my concern about Costco, which we’ve owned pretty much for as long as I have the Charitable Trust, you know my concern was that it was selling at 50 times earnings. The highest it ever really trades at is 47. The numbers are coming through, though, and that matters. We need to see the re-up rate. Right now, the re-up rate is not as strong as I’d like. The stock has bounced; that’s terrific, but a lot of that’s technical. I’m urging you to stay long Costco. It didn’t do well today because it was up very big last week, on people thinking that there would be a lot of pantry stocking. There was, and it was already discounted. I want you to stay with Costco. I still like it.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) operates membership warehouses and provides groceries, fresh food, household goods, electronics, and more. In addition, the company offers various services through pharmacies, gas stations, optical centers, and e-commerce options.
1. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 183
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer answered questions about. Noting that the market expanded out of the tech stocks, a caller asked if they should hold or sell their position in the stock. Cramer replied:
I’m going to make a suggestion, not hold, not sell, but buy. I think that Broadcom is down to the level, it’s about a hundred points from its high. Hock Tan has made quarter after quarter after quarter. I think he’ll do it again. It’s got growth. Software and hardware both are on fire. It does a lot of work with Google. It’s expanding that work. I think that Broadcom represents one of the cheaper ways to play artificial intelligence.
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) supplies semiconductor devices and infrastructure software, including networking, connectivity, and storage solutions. The company’s products are used for applications in data centers, telecommunications, broadband, smartphones, industrial systems, and AI networking. During the December 15, 2025, episode, Cramer noted that he trusts the CEO of the company, as he commented:
Last week turned brutal for the AI data center stocks when we got this pair of poorly received quarters from Oracle on Wednesday and then Broadcom on Thursday night. Oracle plunged 10.8% the next day. Broadcom dropped 11.4% on Friday. Dragged the whole group down with them. Now, as I mentioned in my Sunday think piece for the CNBC investing club, I’m not that worried about Broadcom, which we own for the Charitable Trust. Broadcom reported a healthy top and bottom-line beat. They gave strong sales and EBITDA guidance for the current quarter.
The stock only got hit because the CFO inartfully mentioned on the conference call that their AI business will include more full rack systems next year, meaning more systems with components not entirely made by Broadcom, and thus, the gross margins on those systems will be lower.
Oh, really scary. Oh, was the market stupid about this. It’s not a big deal, people. But remember, the stock had run up a great, really dramatically going into the quarter, so it got slammed. At the end of the day, I trust Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, he has never ever let me down, to keep delivering excellent numbers.
He will do it again. Historically speaking, every time the market’s doubted this guy, the market has been dead wrong. I told club members in that same think piece that I would hold onto Broadcom, but after today’s 20-point decline, it might be time to switch directions. Do some buying. So I feel good about Broadcom. You’re getting a real nice buying opportunity now… Broadcom, like I said to club members, stay close to your email. We could be pulling the trigger to buy more any minute.
While we acknowledge the potential of Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AVGO and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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